Why "Notes From the Silent Planet?"
Why I write.
Those who know me well are aware of my indebtedness to the writings of C.S. Lewis. It may surprise some of you that my favorite from among Lewis’ writings is not his apologetic writing (like Mere Christianity) nor the famous Narnia series, though I do love both dearly. No, I esteem the so-called “Space Trilogy” - Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength - above all Lewis’ works.
A core idea of the trilogy (borrowed from medieval cosmology) is that each of the planets are ruled by an angelic being in God’s stead. All of them, that is, except our own. Our ruler (the “Bent One”) rebelled against God and as a result our world was put under a sort of radio blackout. Earth is the silent planet. Now of course, the Space Trilogy is fiction, but Lewis makes it clear that he sees something like this to be true in the real world:
“Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.”
That quote, from Mere Christianity, gets at my intention with my writing. It is an act of subterfuge, of rebellion against the powers of the age. It is to witness to the Rightful King and to encourage those faithful to him. The battle is joined, but our weapons are not carnal.
This is why I write.